Diana Donnarumma has been through a life-changing experience recently. After battling an invisible illness for two years that left her in terrible pain and an inability to eat real food, she received an organ transplant of a small intestine and colon in Washington, D.C. that saved her life. She is now looking past the stress and unimaginable pain and sharing what this has meant to her.
When you receive the gift of life, all other gifts seem trivial.
Being bedridden, throwing up to the point of losing consciousness, not being able to eat and frequent rushing to the ER (weekly) have all become part of my “norm.” It’s hard to sit here and think how superficial we are as a society. All I want to do is live and return to normalcy. I mean, it doesn’t seem too crazy to me. As a society, we dont realize we are missing something unless we don’t have it. I mean could you imagine not being able to eat? Had I not gone through all of this I would never know or could even imagine a life lived artificially through an IV line going through my chest into my heart.
I used to go hours and start feeling “hangry” but now think two years.
I understand that a transplant isn’t a means to an end but rather trading in one set of problems for another. For example, I might be able to eat a bit now but im completely immuno-suppressed with hand tremors. To me the risk was worth the benefit.
I could never thank my donor enough for this beautiful and emotional gesture but I had to write it. Yes, of course I’m participating in Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday and I had a lot of time to online stress shop in the hospital but this season doesn’t feel the same.
Christmas is about Christ and I’m making sure he is first because I would have made this far without him. It may sound trivial but when I gave him my stress and worries he took the keys and put my transplant into turbo speed and took away may stress, worries and anxiety. Your prayers have kept me here, so God bless every prayer every person has made on my behalf. This Christmas I want to share my love, gratitude and hope with all of you.
God bless.
Diana
http://sweetbuffalo.smblu.com/my-invisible-illness-does-not-define-me-a-story-of-strength/
